Funding for carbon capture could be dropped as part of Wednesday's Budget, according to an exclusive report in The Scotsman. The paper says cuts to the energy security and net zero budget would clear the way for the money to be scrapped, with funds being found for defence.
The Scotsman says this would include the Acorn project at St Fergus. A final investment decision on Acorn is expected in next year's spending review, it says, but Budget cuts would pave the way for its funding to go. The paper does not name a source or give a figure.
Blair McDougall, the UK reindustrialisation minister, told The Scotsman: "Decisions on all of these projects will be a matter for the Budget." No response from the Treasury has been reported.
Separately, the Guardian reports that Chris Packham and other campaigners are urging the Chancellor, John Healey, to cut the £24bn earmarked for carbon capture and storage, which the paper says includes BP and Equinor schemes. Packham told the Guardian: "CCS is a tech fairytale".
The Guardian also says the government reportedly plans to reduce grants for households swapping gas boilers for heat pumps. It gives no figures.
None of these reported measures has been confirmed.